


Snowball Fight

by quartermile



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky doesn't like the snow, Curtain Fic, M/M, clint loves snowball fights, the avengers help bucky and steve with the snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2018-02-19 05:27:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2376461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quartermile/pseuds/quartermile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first snow day at the Avengers Tower is something that the team has been dreading. But an idea sparks in their minds about how to help the two who's nightmares are haunted by ice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snowball Fight

And there it is. The day everyone who'd thought ahead had been dreading. The day of the first snow of the year in New York City.

The year before, Steve had been sent on a mission to warmer areas during the snowy months. This year though, with all of the Avengers living in the tower and a resident rehabilitating Winter Soldier, no such luck. And now it's not just Steve who doesn't like the cold but also Bucky, who's wound is far more fresh.

With all of the events of the past months, Loki's invasion and then Shield's disbanding and the resulting problems with Hydra, no one has given much thought to the inevitable weather of the northern East Coast. Until it happens. 

The rest of the Avengers have made it to the common area where breakfast is usually served. Bruce cooked today, and it's always good when Bruce cooks. It's usually foreign, and today doesn't disappoint; scrambled eggs and cuscuz, sausage, buttered toast, jam, oatmeal and tea.

"We've _got_ to have a snowball fight!" Clint exclaims as he hops onto a stool at the counter, kicking his feet. He loves this weather so much. There's something about the snow that makes him feel like a kid again.

Tony and Bruce's heads jerk up simultaneously, thoughts going to the exact same place, "Wait? It's snowed?"

"Yeah, didn't Jarvis tell you this morning with his announcement?" Clint asks.

"No, Bruce and I were in the lab all night working," Tony replies, "Fuck. It snowed?"

"Yes," Clint replies slowly, "You've lived in New York all your life, haven't you? Snow is usually what happens in the wintertime."

Natasha nudges him, telling him silently to knock off the sarcastic edge to his tone. Sam is the one who finally voices the concern, "What are we going to do about this, guys? You know this isn't going to go over well."

"What isn't?" Clint asks. For being called the Hawkeye, he certainly can miss some important things. 

"Steve and Bucky, birdbrain," Tony retorts, "You know how they are with snow and ice. Steve was frozen under snow for seventy years and Bucky was in cryo-freeze on and off for roughly that long. There's no way they'll react well to the snow."

"Oh shit, I didn't even think of that," Clint frowns.

"Sir, Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes are currently on their way to the kitchen," Jarvis announces.

"Thanks Bud," Tony replies, scrunching his face up momentarily, "Well I guess we'll find out soon then." Just then, the door dings open and the two super soldiers stroll out of the elevator into the common area.

"Morning guy-" Steve starts to say, his words faltering as he catches the confused look on Bucky's face. He stops his stretch short, "Bucky? What's wrong?"

The Winter Soldier's observant gaze is fixed on the big windows- or rather the full glass wall, "It's too bright," he murmurs.

"Should Jarvis dim the panels?" Steve asks.

"No, it's not that," he says, his big strides taking him quickly to the window. He nearly skids to a stop, a strangled gasp leaving his lips, "No..."

"Bucky?" Steve demands, hurrying to his side. It only takes a second for Steve himself to notice the blanket of white covering the Earth outside and he tenses, though he's not worried about the memories plaguing his own mind.

"No... N-no... Nononono," Bucky repeats, his body seizing up as the familiar sensations take over his body. The memories of the years spent in cryo-freeze awakening that bone deep ache, making his muscles simultaneously twitch and seize up. 

"Bucky!" he suddenly jerks back into the present by Steve's voice, his boyfriend's frantic blue eyes searching his own.

"I won't go back there," comes the choked reply, " _I won't._ "

"Bucky. Bucky, baby, I know. You won't go back. No one is sending you back," Steve says softly, "It's destroyed. Remember? I destroyed the tank myself. It's snow, Buck."

"Snow? Snow! Steve, you were under the snow for-"

"Bucky!" Steve shouts, placing both hands on either side of the trembling man's face. He lowers his voice immediately, to a whisper, "Buck, it's okay. I promise. It's snow. From the sky. No one is making you do anything, I promise. You're safe here."

Another whimper leaves Bucky's lips and he closes his eyes. Steve places a hand on the back of his neck, pulling his head gently down to rest on his shoulder. He wraps strong arms around the man's shoulders, the cool metal of his left shoulder sending a chill across his skin.

"You know, maybe we can help a little," Tony says quietly, the gears turning in his head.

The other Avengers turn their attention to him in question and Tony takes a moment to phrase it a little less insensitively than he normally would, knowing Steve can definitely hear him and possibly Bucky can as well.

"Well, considering they both have pretty bad experiences with snow and ice, we can give them better ones. Take them out to play in it. Make snowmen and stuff. Have a snowball fight." Tony explains.

"That could work," Sam starts, nodding in agreement, "Slowly reintroduce them back into it as something that can be for fun instead of something out of their nightmares. Who knows, that may could even help lessen those up."

"It is a good idea. _If_ we can get them actually out there," Bruce says as he glances up from his cup of tea.

"True," Tony agrees, a line appearing between his brows as he considers this.

"Yeah, I don't think Steve will be as much of a problem. He doesn't like it either and his problem was more directly snow from the sky, but it wasn't used for torture with him, you know? It wasn't used to keep him on a leash." Sam says, lowering his voice so that the others have to move in closer. He doesn't think it will be good if the two supersoldiers were to hear this particular part of the conversation.

"We'll talk about it more after breakfast," Tony says as he sees Steve start to lead Bucky over to the table. The blonde is tense, himself, but it isn't clear whether it's because of his own anxieties or for Bucky. Hell, it could be both. 

Bucky on the other hand, is trembling so hard it's only sheer will that keeps him on his feet. He's visibly vibrating from the tension which then makes Bruce fairly anxious. He's not worried about the Hulk making an appearance but he definitely wants to do something to help calm down his friend. 

Bucky's attached to Steve's side, practically hiding behind him like a small child would to his mother. His shoulders are slumped and his eyes are cast to the floor, looking almost as if he's on the verge of submitting to whatever power would try to make him, just as he was forced to do all those years as the Winter Soldier.

He follows silently behind Steve as he fixes them both a plate, hand resting on his elbow or hip as he moves. He only sits once Steve gently nudges him to it, placing a plate in front of him and handing him a fork. 

"Eat, Buck," Steve says softly. He hates how he is demanding something of Bucky, but at least it's for his safety and well-being instead of to force him into submission.

Bucky obeys, though, just as he would before. He begins to eat slowly, obviously trying to tear out of that place in his mind. A place that a simple snow day forced him back to. After a few mometns of tense silence, he slowly place his fork back onto his plate and slumps down a little more.

"I don't like snow," he whispers, tears suddenly swimming in his eyes and beginning to splash down his cheeks. It's a rare moment of raw emotion from the soldier, something he hardly shows to anyone except Steve. 

"Oh, Bucky," Steve whispers, moving in to wraps his arms back around Bucky as silent sobs wrack his body. 

"We won't let anymore of those bad people touch you," Clint tells him, edging closer, his body language showing to even the lesser trained that he wants to hug the crying man but he's unsure. Steve sees it immediately and jerks his head forward in a silent motion to tell him it's okay to come closer.

"I'm going to hug you now, Buck, okay?" Clint tells him softly, resting just one hand on his back and moving slowly to search for any signs of denial before hugging Bucky, he and Steve holding him. It doesn't take long for the others to move in as well, surrounding him in comforting presence.

"We had an idea to help," Tony says.

-=-

The afternoon brings six Avengers in the backyard area of the Stark tower, trying to coax one Winter Soldier out of the tower. It had taken the entire morning and the first part of the afternoon trying to convince Steve and Bucky that it was a good idea. Though Steve's argument was mostly for Bucky's benefit. No, he doesn't enjoy the snow, but it's not as much of a fear as it is something he'd just like to not think about. 

They're all in various winter attire, Clint in a dark purple coat and his black leather gloves, Natasha in a simple black sweater with matching black gloves, Bruce just in a gray long sleeve, the gamma having made it so his body temperature is high enough, cold is something he doesn't get. Tony is wearing a thick muted red and gold coat with Stark Industries scrawled down the sleeve, fingerless leather gloves with SI on them, and Sam is wearing an army green denim jacket over a gray "Falcon ruffles my wings" hoodie that Tony had made for him as a joke. Steve has on a simple dark blue long-sleeved sweatshirt with Stark Industries on it as well, not needing much to stay warm, himself.

Bucky, on the other hand has on a long-sleeved shirt, a sweater, a SI hoodie and a gray bubble coat on. He's got on a pair of sweatpants and a fluffy pair of pajama paints emblazoned with Captain America's shield that is also a gift from Tony. He's got on about three pairs of socks, the outermost layer also being fluffy sleep socks, making it very hard to have gotten on his boots. He's got a deep red scarf wrapped around his neck, covering all the way up to his chin. Mittens cover his hands, even his metal one that isn't sensitive to the cold, and Tony and Clint had an amusing discussion about whether or not he had a pair of gloves on under them as well. A beanie with a pompom on top and earmuffs adorn his ears to complete his outfit.

It tugged at Steve's heart his attempt to keep off the cold. He'd very reluctantly agreed to at least go down with the others to watch them play in the snow, though he'd been iffy on his answer whether he'd step out into it or not.

As of yet, though, it's been the latter. It's been nearly ten minutes spent of the Avengers trying to coax the wary man out onto the sidewalk.

He hovers just inside the open doorway, refusing to let his toes move over the threshold to touch the white power dusted everywhere. It's reminiscent of trying to coax a cat into water - it just isn't going to happen.

"Bucky, come on, I promise it's okay," Steve says softly. He'd been tense himself until Clint hit him with a snowball, clearing being impatient to start the activities. That had sort of relaxed him. The memories of being a kid again.

That gives Steve an idea, "Go ahead and go play," he says to Clint. Maybe if Bucky sees the others having fun, it'll relax him.

Clint whoops and takes Natasha's hand, dragging her off with him as Tony and Bruce follow. Sam hovers close by, the counselor in him keeping him from wanting to get far. 

Bucky clutches at the doorframe, inching forward once he sees Clint laughing as he hurls a snowball at Tony who hollers and scoops one up for himself.

"That's it, Buck, come one," Steve urges, holding a hand out to his boyfriend.

"I'm scared, Steve," Bucky whispers, so quiet that only Steve's enhanced ears can hear. The others aren't paying attention; well, Clint, Tony and Bruce are not. Bruce is making a snowman while Clint and Tony hurl snow at one another. Natasha stands beside Bruce, watching the two boys act like childen, though her attention seems mostly on the two at the door. Sam hovers a short distance away, disguising himself as watching Tony and Clint as well, though his intentions are obvious.

"I know, sweetheart. But it's okay, I promise you that," Steve says. Bucky frowns, teeth sinking into his bottom lip. He's torn between wanting to cling to Steve and wanting to stay far away from the white dust all over the ground that Steve is ankle deep in.

As Tony flops down on the ground to make a snow angel, Clint packs together another snowball, hurling it at Sam. It misses and hits the tower right next to the door, exploding and sending spray toward the frightened soldier.

Bucky lets out a whine and skitters backwards as slush lands on his bare cheeks, "Steve!" he shouts before flushing deeply. He swallows hard and scrunches his nose a little, "I don't like this..."

"I know it's scary, baby. But it's okay. It can actually be fun," Steve tells him, motioning to Tony who's drawing an arc reactor into his snow angel, Bruce who's tongue is poking out slightly in concentration as he shapes his snowman, and Natasha who's scolding Clint for the snowball, "I would never force you to do anything you didn't want to do, Buck. So if you just can't do it, we don't have to. But if you just step out here, touch it, see that it won't hurt you, that's all." 

"We just want you to see that you're safe now," Sam says, "This snow won't hurt you. It's not here to keep you in place until the next mission, it's here for play." he motions back to the others then.

"I know... Just," he whispers, "How isn't it so hard for you, Stevie?"

"I've been out of the ice for quite a bit longer, babe," Steve says, moving back to Bucky's side and taking his hand, wrapping an arm around his waist, "While it was scary for me and stuff, I was asleep the whole time. I went under, I came out. It's not something I want to endure again, but it happened once. I didn't know it until I woke up. And it was an accident. You got put into it over and over again. It was a form of torture for you. That makes it so much harder."

"I don't know how to make the cold go away," Bucky whispers and it's clear he doesn't mean the cold right at the moment, he means the cold that haunts his nightmares.

"You start just like this," Steve says, taking a look around. While he'd been talking, he'd slowly steered Bucky out of the tower and onto the sidewalk where the snow wasn't as deep.

Bucky whimpers softly, his hand squeezing Steve's tightly as he looks around, taking in the bright, mostly untouched snow. Tony and Clint run over together, then, slowing as they get close, both carrying a snowball. They stop a few steps away, holding their hands out in an offering.

Steve reaches forward, taking the one from Clint before nudging Bucky, and holding it up, "See? It's okay... I promise you."

Bucky swallows hard, teeth worrying at his lip again before he hesitantly reaches out, taking the snowball from Tony. His mitten covered hands just hold it for a second before he starts to pat it back into a perfect ball shape. 

"So, what do you want to do?" Steve asks, eyes flitting from further into the yard and back toward the doorway, giving him a clear choice to choose whatever he wants to do. He thinks for a minute, his eyes lighting in cautious excitement.

Bucky launches his snowball at Steve.

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, if someone wants to make some fanart of Bucky all dressed up like he is in the story when they're trying to coax him out, I'll give you a virtual kiss, a plethora of virtual hugs, write you a oneshot of your choosing, and love you forever! I would LOVE to see that in those cute drawings I see everywhere.


End file.
